Innoventions

Description And Comments

Innoventions is housed in the large circular building originally occupied by the audio-animatronic classic Carousel of Progress. Modeled after a similar tradeshow-style attraction at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Innoventions was part of the 1996-2000 Tomorrowland renovation, and has been revamped repeatedly over the past decade and a half in search of an identity. It may have finally found it with the 2013 arrival of Marvel's Avengers, as a trio of comic-themed exhibits have revitalized this formerly-deserted showcase of cutting-edge commercial technology.

Guests climb a curving ramp to enter the attraction building (which no longer revolves) on its second level, where they'll find the super-heroic headliners. "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries" premiered first, and includes an interactive exhibit where you can virtually "suit up", plus Tony Stark's Hall of Armor with a history of the hero's costumes. The "advertraction" for the blockbuster film franchise marked the first appearance of a Marvel Comics character (now owned by Disney) inside a Disney park. Disney later added "Thor: Treasures of Asgard" where guests can view props from the two Thor movies and meet Thor himself, along with a third Marvel area to Innoventions, "Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage." This area, which is not as well-themed as the first two, is also a meet and greet where guests can get some face to face time in with Captain America.

On the second floor you'll also find an entertaining 15-minute show demonstrating Honda's ASIMO, an impressive humanoid robot capable of walking autonomously, climbing stairs, and kicking soccer balls. Also upstairs are some Xbox One and Kinect video game consoles, Siemens's "Project Tomorrow" simulations (as also seen at Epcot's Spaceship Earth), and St. John's Hospital's interactive health-living play area.

The ground level houses a throwback to one of the most beloved and often remembered attractions of Disneyland's early years: the Monsanto House of the Future, a stand-alone building with a curved spaceship-style exterior and rooms outfitted with furniture and appliances forecast to be in everyone's home before the millennium. This time around, sans Monsanto, it's the Dream Home, located in the middle of the ground floor of Innoventions. Surrounding the Dream Home are rooms from equally futuristic "neighbors'" homes, complete with actors playing the neighbors. Between the neighbors and a member of the Dream Home family, you are guided on a tour of the home's wondrous rooms and the technology within them. A grand piano in the great room is networked to a music teacher across the country. In the dining room, touch screens in the dinner table allow the family to assemble a scrapbook. A 100-inch television dominates the family room. The kitchen, which will remind you of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, is of course the mother lode: among its many amazements is a computer that reads RFID (radio-frequency identification) 'smart' labels on food packages and warns you if you're about to chug a glass of milk past its expiration date; the same computer will alert you if you don't have an ingredient on hand for a recipe you're making. A story line concerning the Dream home family, the Eliases, sort of ties everything together.

Touring Tips

The main draw of Innoventions is going to be the two Marvel meet and greets. Lines can get long for these, so be sure to set aside at least an hour total to meet Captain America and Thor. Check the times guides because these heroes often only work a half-day. Crowds are rarely an issue at the rest of the Innovention attractions.

We recommend that you spend time at Innoventions on your second day. If you have only 1 day, visit sometime during the evening if you have the time and endurance. Be forewarned that when you return home, your wife may want to remodel the kitchen.

Incidentally, Innoventions is a great place to hide out during inclement weather.

Be aware that this attraction usually opens 1 hour after the rest of the park and shuts its doors to new entrants 2 hours before the official closing time.

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